Musicians Trevor Terndrup, Tommy Putnam, and Spencer Thomas founded Moon Taxi in 2006 while attending Belmont University. The Nashville band added drummer Tyler Ritter and keyboardist Wes Bailey a short time afterwards.

In an interview with Billboard, Putnam tells the account of how the band received its name. While attempting to hail hurrying taxis in downtown Nashville, Terndrup (vocalist) began to moon the cabs as they passed in order to get the driver’s attention. Although his effort to get a ride failed, the band has accomplished releasing multiple albums in the past few years with their most recent album Mountains Beaches Cities. The band recently finished playing at Bonnaroo 2015. Moon Taxi tells EARMILK that their newest song is an anthem for those who “are out there living crazy round-the-clock lives” and tells of the “one thing that keeps you going all day and all night.”

In reference to last weeks Live on the Green I’ve heard phrases such as, “Largest Live on the Green crowd ever.” If it wasn’t the largest crowd that was being talked about it was the massive LCD screen that was put up so even the people down on Broadway honky-tonkin’ could see what Lulu Mae, Leagues, and Local Natives were delivering. Nashville, we have done it again! For the past five weeks local Nashville and nationally known artists have brought us all together on Thursday nights for some local brew, good food, and good times. Here at Lightning 100 we hope you all have had a terrific Live on the Green season and will join us for the final blowout down in Public Square Park this Thursday at 6 P.M. Come on down early to grab a beer, a spot on the lawn, and to sign up to win V.I.P. tickets among many other prizes at the Lightning 100 tent! It’s the last Live on the Green of the season so we hope to see you all there!!

Moon Taxi

Formed in 2006 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Moon Taxi, the inaugural Music City Mayhem Contest winners, have been playing festivals and touring around with such acts as Gov’t Mule, Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu, and The Apache Relay. With two studio albums, Melodica and Cabaret, and one live-album, Live Ride, recorded at Nashville’s 12th and Porter it’s needless to say that Moon Taxi has been busy. With their third studio album set to release September 10, 2013 it is a perfect time for them to be headlining this weeks Live on the Green. Their sound has been described as, “roots-rhythms, Latin-ismo, Phishy riffs, complex fusion and gutbucket, blue collar rock into a pretty enjoyable ball they hurl with serious gusto.” Lightning 100 is very proud to have Nashville’s own Moon Taxi wrap up this Live on the Green series, make sure to be there to catch it!

These Nashville hometown heroes have been crafting their sound since their days in a Belmont University dorm. Moon Taxi’s third album, Mountains Beaches Cities was recorded in Nashville and is set for release on September 13, 2013. Tune into Lightning 100 to hear the first single, “Running Wild.”

Brought together at Belmont University, Moon Taxi has evolved from a dorm jam band to hometown heroes. Formed in 2006, the band has gone from playing background to a local rap group to headlining talent. The band’s debut studio effort “Melodia” was dropped in 2007 and they recorded a live album at Nashville’s 12th and Porter in August 2008. Guitarist Spencer Thomsen sustained an injury at the show, and put the band on hold until 2009. The next two years were a series of good time shows and festival tour dates, drawing more attention to Moon Taxi. Their anticipated second album, “Cabaret,” dropped in 2012 to much acclaim. Moon Taxi won Lightning 100’s first Music City Mayhem and later went on to play grandiose stages such as Bonnaroo and Live On the Green. We caught up with the guys backstage after their set at hangout.

After cleaning all of the sand out of our camera lenses, tripods, computers(some how), and other places we don’t care to mention, Lightning 100 is able to start posting our backstage performances at 2013 Hangout Music Fest. Nashville artists were definitely representing at the festival this year performing at small/major stages and even the shuttle buses. The Nashville lineup included Moon Taxi, The Kingston Springs, Chancellor Warhol, The Weeks, Luella and the Sun, Josh Farrow, Wild Cub, The Wild Feathers, and a few others that were just enjoying the festival. Click here to check out photos from the festival! We’ve got more backstage performances coming!

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Forecastle Festival is excited to announce the initial lineup for its 11th annual three-day music celebration, featuring Grammy Award winners The Black Keys, alongside The String Cheese Incident and the Avett Brothers leading the festival’s rich, eclectic offerings. The event will again take place July 12 – 14, 2013 at Louisville’s scenic, award-winning Waterfront Park.

Tickets for this year’s festival go on sale this Wednesday, March 6th at Noon EST on Forecastle.com. Purchase tickets in full, or opt for one of our special payment plans, available for both General Admission or VIP tickets.

Highlighted in Rolling Stone as a top event in 2012, and acclaimed by Outside as one of the “Top 15 Outdoor Festivals in the USA,” the Forecastle Festival has evolved into one of the country’s premier festival destinations. The event offers an immersive experience that’s distinctly Louisville- beyond the first-class musical lineup—highlighting the region’s burgeoning culinary and arts scene, Kentucky’s unique bourbon heritage and more. The festival continues to emphasize sustainability practices and conservation initiatives, highlighted through the festival’s non-profit organization, the Forecastle Foundation.

After two days of running around taking photos and filming backstage performances, we finally got some down time at the radio compound. Click here to check out photos from the what, where, this, that, and other tent.

I went through all the videos from bands and artists that performed on my show this year and was blown away by all the great memories!

One I will remember for the rest of my life was THE DOOBIE BROTHERS asking me to sing BLACK WATER. In the middle of the performance! Unreal. Thank god I was basically in key…or this would not be the first video in my Best of 2011! 😉

This Nashville based band put out one of my favorite albums in 2011. I had the pleasure of having them perform this track LOST BOY on my show. Pick up a copy of THE APACHE RELAY album AMERICAN NOMAD today at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music.

How about getting THE CIVIL WARS on my show! Such a pleasure getting this intimate performance of BARTON HOLLOW from Joy Williams and John Paul White. Life is good!

When NICKEL CREEK said, farewell for now, we all knew we would get some superb music from the gang, as they explored solo projects and new groups. Chris Thile seems to really be enjoying himself here with his new band, THE PUNCH BROTHERS. This recording is coming from two room mics. Simply amazing.

MOON TAXI – I love this Nashville band. It’s been so much fun watching them grow into the stars they have yet to become. Their new album CABARET drops in the beginning of February. 2012 will be the year of MOON TAXI!

I guess for now, this will be a top 5 but there are dozens more. This link will take you to the beginning of the year on our youtube page.